Govt behind ‘attacks’ on SC, says Imran
PTI chief calls for resignation of NAB chairman for saying he won’t open cases.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan squarely blamed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday for ‘hatching conspiracies’ against the Supreme Court (SC).
The PTI chief said the government was the ‘mastermind’ behind recent ‘attacks’ on the Supreme Court, taking revenge because the court was pursuing high-profile cases against its top leadership.
Imran also declared that real estate magnate Riaz Malik was not only a business partner but a front man for President Asif Ali Zardari in this ‘race’.
Referring to corruption, Imran said that top political parties PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have failed to draft any accountability laws to cope with the chronic problem which has destroyed the country’s economy.
“Both deliberately pushed the proposed bill (Accountability Bill, 2008) into a blind alley to cover their top leadership’s corruption,” Imran Khan said.
The PTI chairperson urged the chief justice to take up pending cases of corruption against political leaders. He also demanded the immediate resignation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairperson over his alleged statement that he would not open pending cases against the PML-N. He urged the SC to take suo motu notice over his refusal. NAB chief Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari had stated on Saturday that since elections are around the corner, political cases will not be reopened against anyone.
Imran said that NAB is an independent institution and the chairperson has no power to pick and choose cases on the basis of personal liking and disliking or under the instructions of his political bosses.
He also demanded that Bokhari clarify the nature and level of his relations with Riaz and called upon Riaz to announce in public, under an oath, the names of any of his beneficiaries from the ranks of the civil, military and political elite.
Continuing to lash out at the PML-N, Imran waved a clipping from a national English daily with the headline ‘The lion that fed on public’s money’, alleging that former premier Nawaz Sharif made illegal financial gains during his tenures.
He challenged Nawaz to sue the publisher to prove otherwise. He also criticised the Punjab government for what he said was a mishandling of the doctors’ strike, the dengue epidemic and substandard medicines. Earlier, former PML-N provincial minister from Multan Saeed Ahmed Qureshi announced that he was joining PTI.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2012.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan squarely blamed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday for ‘hatching conspiracies’ against the Supreme Court (SC).
The PTI chief said the government was the ‘mastermind’ behind recent ‘attacks’ on the Supreme Court, taking revenge because the court was pursuing high-profile cases against its top leadership.
Imran also declared that real estate magnate Riaz Malik was not only a business partner but a front man for President Asif Ali Zardari in this ‘race’.
Referring to corruption, Imran said that top political parties PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have failed to draft any accountability laws to cope with the chronic problem which has destroyed the country’s economy.
“Both deliberately pushed the proposed bill (Accountability Bill, 2008) into a blind alley to cover their top leadership’s corruption,” Imran Khan said.
The PTI chairperson urged the chief justice to take up pending cases of corruption against political leaders. He also demanded the immediate resignation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairperson over his alleged statement that he would not open pending cases against the PML-N. He urged the SC to take suo motu notice over his refusal. NAB chief Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari had stated on Saturday that since elections are around the corner, political cases will not be reopened against anyone.
Imran said that NAB is an independent institution and the chairperson has no power to pick and choose cases on the basis of personal liking and disliking or under the instructions of his political bosses.
He also demanded that Bokhari clarify the nature and level of his relations with Riaz and called upon Riaz to announce in public, under an oath, the names of any of his beneficiaries from the ranks of the civil, military and political elite.
Continuing to lash out at the PML-N, Imran waved a clipping from a national English daily with the headline ‘The lion that fed on public’s money’, alleging that former premier Nawaz Sharif made illegal financial gains during his tenures.
He challenged Nawaz to sue the publisher to prove otherwise. He also criticised the Punjab government for what he said was a mishandling of the doctors’ strike, the dengue epidemic and substandard medicines. Earlier, former PML-N provincial minister from Multan Saeed Ahmed Qureshi announced that he was joining PTI.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2012.